Refrigerators in apartments.. (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland: to rent, refrigerator, tenants)

[Ultrarunner]

I just got bit by one tonight...

A nice single family home where the last tenants asked it they could leave the Washer and Dryer... they said it was not cost effective to ship across the country...

The current tenants, now going on 5 years, saw them and asked to use use them...

Got a frantic call... the tenant came home and found water running out under the garage door... the washer hot water line burst sometime this afternoon... the water stream was directed at the 220v Dryer Outlet and caused arcing...

Tenant said they had planned to wash Saturday and hope I can get a replacement in the morning???

Washer and dryer are not included in the rent and I just learned today that the water is never turned-off after washing...

I grew up in a house where the water was always turned off...

Appliances are a bane in the rental business... it's not the initial cost, rather the liability and on going maintenance and they tend to have problems night, weekends and holidays.

[marilyn220]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I just got bit by one tonight...

A nice single family home where the last tenants asked it they could leave the Washer and Dryer... they said it was not cost effective to ship across the country...

The current tenants, now going on 5 years, saw them and asked to use use them...

Got a frantic call... the tenant came home and found water running out under the garage door... the washer hot water line burst sometime this afternoon... the water stream was directed at the 220v Dryer Outlet and caused arcing...

Tenant said they had planned to wash Saturday and hope I can get a replacement in the morning???

Washer and dryer are not included in the rent and I just learned today that the water is never turned-off after washing...

I grew up in a house where the water was always turned off...

Appliances are a bane in the rental business... it's not the initial cost, rather the liability and on going maintenance and they tend to have problems night, weekends and holidays.

Refrigerators tend to last forever. I grew up in an apartment with several kids and the refrigerator never broke down or whatever else you claimed.

This not having a refrigerator thing is only relegated to LOS ANGELES and nowhere else. It's a very third world concept compared to the rest of the country and you know it. A fridge is a natural given when renting a place. And you wonder why I call LA a fake metropolis.

[marilyn220]

Originally Posted by Arus

both the refrigerator and the stove in my apartment was from the previous tenant. since both still worked and were already hooked up, i didn't feel the need to replace them.

I dont find it strange at all that apartments don't come with a stove, refrigerator or both.

I dont know why renters would expect that an apartment would have either being furnished. When an apartment goes up for rent as unfurnished, I expect that everything would need to be provided by the tenant

Partly furnished the only thing I expect is probably the stove or the refrigerator, not both.

I am sad for you.

Go out and see how the renters live in other parts of the country, particularly NYC. A stove and fridge is a given not something you wish for.

[DowntownVentura]

I supply all appliances including refrigerator and laundry. I use a short replacement schedule which minimizes down time. The appliance that I replace outside of schedule most often is the dishwasher.

What I spend in appliances is more than made up by happy tenants.

[marilyn220]

Originally Posted by DowntownVentura

I supply all appliances including refrigerator and laundry. I use a short replacement schedule which minimizes down time. The appliance that I replace outside of schedule most often is the dishwasher.

What I spend in appliances is more than made up by happy tenants.

The only thing that wasn't a given in NYC is a dishwasher. Actually, I can take it or leave it as I don't have a problem handwashing dishes. The place I stay at now doesn't have one, but they do have a fridge and stove.

There is no way I'd spend more than $500 a month without either of these. Well, to be honest, I never would have rented a place if they didn't have it.

I was reading a prior post from a woman who had to drag her STOVE around with her every time she moved. NEVER, EVER have I heard of such a thing. Up until I moved to LA, that was unheard of. What also gets me is that landlords have the absolute NERVE to charge above $400 to $500 without having these installed. This takes absolute chutzpah!

I'm glad you're a good landlord and KNOW that the odds of these appliances "breaking down" within a couple of years is absolute nonsense. Even with bratty kids, just HOW can a refrigerator be torn up or "broken" from them opening and closing it all the time?

Please! Folks just wanna make excuses for their cheapness and trying to get over on peeps who don't know any better.

[DowntownVentura]

Originally Posted by marilyn220

The only thing that wasn't a given in NYC is a dishwasher. Actually, I can take it or leave it as I don't have a problem handwashing dishes. The place I stay at now doesn't have one, but they do have a fridge and stove.

There is no way I'd spend more than $500 a month without either of these. Well, to be honest, I never would have rented a place if they didn't have it.

I was reading a prior post from a woman who had to drag her STOVE around with her every time she moved. NEVER, EVER have I heard of such a thing. Up until I moved to LA, that was unheard of. What also gets me is that landlords have the absolute NERVE to charge above $400 to $500 without having these installed. This takes absolute chutzpah!

I'm glad you're a good landlord and KNOW that the odds of these appliances "breaking down" within a couple of years is absolute nonsense. Even with bratty kids, just HOW can a refrigerator be torn up or "broken" from them opening and closing it all the time?

Please! Folks just wanna make excuses for their cheapness and trying to get over on peeps who don't know any better.

I should mention that my rentals are in the $2000+/month range.

I don't know where you can get a rental around here for $500 but I would not expect much if you did. Who knows, there may be a lot of tenants that want to save on their monthly rent and supply and be responsible for their own appliances. That is not the market I am in so I have no real knowledge of that. In the segment I am in, the tenants are happy with good service and I am happy with happy tenants.

[marilyn220]

Originally Posted by DowntownVentura

I should mention that my rentals are in the $2000+/month range.

I don't know where you can get a rental around here for $500 but I would not expect much if you did. Who knows, there may be a lot of tenants that want to save on their monthly rent and supply and be responsible for their own appliances. That is not the market I am in so I have no real knowledge of that. In the segment I am in, the tenants are happy with good service and I am happy with happy tenants.

No, I meant that if a landlord isn't going to offer a refrigerator or a stove (or both), then they shouldn't be charging more than $500 for basically renting a large ROOM.

If you want $800 or more from me in rent, then a refrigerator and stove is an absolute MUST. Thankfully, I've never had that problem here, but I'm glad the rest of the country isn't like this.

And yes, for $2000 a month NOT having these things would be ridiculous, strange and laughable.

I'm really stunned at why this city is so expensive to live when they feel it's okay to charge $1000 or more with no appliances. Makes absolutely no sense. None at all, but I guess if I'm from the mountains of kentucky or oklahoma and didn't know any better, then I'd probably believe this was "normal" everywhere too.

[SandyCo]

While I wouldn't expect a refrigerator to be furnished by the landlord, I certainly expect a stove! I've never even looked at an apartment that didn't already have a stove and oven in place.

[Fontucky]

I don't supply a fridge mainly because I've never had a tenant who wanted one other than their own. If I supply one, it's going to be a no-frills freezer on top white box. People in those neighborhoods in Mission Viejo and Laguna Niguel seem to want to make a statement with the fridge they purchase. That's not up to me.

I do supply a range/oven/cooktop and a dishwasher. No laundry equipment, but I make sure all washer supply hoses are fitted with quarter-turn ball valves to facilitate shutting them off, and I supply brand new high quality hoses for new tenants at my expense. It's worth it, believe me.

[Ultrarunner]

I've been managing 28 years and there was a time when over 50% of service calls were appliance related... many of the units were subsidized through the Section 8 program... Section 8 allowed the Landlord $2 ea for stove and refrigerator per month...

I ask any person if they they wouldn't honestly give-up $4 a month rent to reduce service calls by 50%???

Free standing appliances are the norm with single family homes, duplexes and triplexes in my market.

When I worked for a management company, it was not uncommon to have appliances totally destroyed by tenants, left so dirty that it would take 3 to 4 hours to clean using harsh chemicals or tenants had their own and we would have to move and store the existing.

The above isn't the real problem... just part of being in the residential rental business.

The real problem is liability... here's a few examples:

Tenants nephews use oven door to reach above cabinet where cookies are kept and in the process the door gives way and kids are injured... kids mom looks to landlord.

Frantic call on the 4th of July holiday weekend the Fridge is out and $800 of meat will spoil... again, not Landlords fault but Landlords problem...tenants spilled lemonade and it shorted the compressor control.

Another, broken glass shelves on high end refrigerator... very expensive to replace and could only be sourced from manufacturer... tenant upset because Landlord should know better than to put expensive appliances in rental with children.

Or... Thanksgiving Dinner and over element goes out on 2 year old range... later learned gravy spilled and caused element to break.

Even though the Landlord didn't cause the problem... the landlord still had to dispatch maintenance on a Holiday...

To the poster that said refrigerators last... this too can be a problem... would you believe tenants have complained because their refrigerators are too reliable? The Utility Company sent out a mailer urging customers to get replace energy guzzling refrigerators... saying even a 5 year old model uses much more than a new one...

Rental Property is a business... anyone that doesn't treat it this way will not last or is only in it as a hobby.

I wouldn't be dealing with a burst washer hose damage if I had disposed of the previous tenants washer and dryer instead of giving them to the new tenants...